Meeting will discuss Monroe Street Bridge plans and schedule, including the Metropolitan Branch Trail

DDOT is hosting a meeting on the Monroe Street Bridge Project tonight from 6:30-8:30pm at Luke C. Moore High School, where they discuss the Reconstruction of Monroe Street NE Bridge Project. DDOT will present the plans and schedule for the upcoming bridge reconstruction.

The project will not include a tunnel under the bridge - as was once proposed, but it will include an improved intersection of 8th and Monroe as well as better bike facilities.

In its current condition, this intersection is unsafe for trail users. When waiting to cross Monroe Street at 8th Street, it is difficult to see westbound traffic coming over the Monroe Street Bridge. Left-turning (southbound) vehicles make many bicyclists waiting on 8th Street to cross Monroe Street feel unsafe. Additionally, the crosswalk is not aligned with the northbound lane on 8th Street, presenting cyclists with a less-than-ideal choice about where to situate themselves to cross Monroe Street.

Clearly the intersection needs major help, and in light of the tunnel being off the table, we know that trail users need a well-engineered intersection that puts the safety of the most vulnerable users (including bicyclists) first.

WABA asked for a set of improvements and there are some of these in the design:

Dedicated bike signals
Bike Boxes on 8th St. NE
Separated green lanes through the intersection
Raised crosswalks
Design features to slow westbound traffic on Monroe, coming over the bridge
Signal Detection and Actuation
Addition of an ADA compliant ramp

First of all, the bike lanes on Monroe will remain, and basically unchanged, but the real difference will be on 8th. On 8th, a bi-directional protected (by flexposts) bike lane will be added on the east side. The lanes - both NS and EW - will be painted green.

They're going to replace the stops signs at the intersection with traffic lights, including bicycle signals and loop induction detectors.  The intersection will get a bike box, separated green lanes and an ADA ramp. And somewhere there is a bicycle signal (but I can't find it). 

The cycletrack will fade out at Lawrence, but probably be continued later (as is the long-term plan).

Comments

[bikester]

Are they really building a block long cycle track that puts bikers directly into oncoming traffic? Who in their right mind would ever use that?

[hlinak]

They need to get ride of that hashed area on the bridge. It might as well not exist the way cars and bikers go right through it to get to the turn lane.

[hlinak]

Seriously, has there ever been a public meeting about the Monroe Street project before? I follow this stuff pretty regularly and they said this has all been decided and there is no public comment. They don't even deal with half of the problems with the bridge.

[washcycle]

Bikester, yes, but the plan is to continue that cycle track all the way to Franklin. In the interim the road gets little traffic and I think drivers and cyclists can handle it.

hlinak, yes. There was one in May 2016 (https://ddot.dc.gov/release/rehabilitation-monroe-street-bridge-ne).

[bikester]

Thanks for the response. I commute on the road and it is pretty light traffic, but I think this creates a more dangerous route for those going south on 8th. In reality I don't think anyone would use it in that direction, and I suppose incremental steps are better than nothing at all.

[hlinak]

I don't know how I missed that meeting. Alas. I still don't understand how a project to redo the bridge ignores the eastern half of the bridge as well as the comments on the VisionZero map about the bridge's safety concerns.

https://ddot.dc.gov/release/rehabilitation-monroe-street-bridge-ne

[Washcycle]

Who do you think it ignores the Eastern half of the bridge? I didn't show that because it's not as interesting from a cyclist standpoint, but that is redesigned as well. It gets better crosswalks and some improved signage, for example.

[Eric]

It's too bad DDOT caved to the Dance Place developer on the underpass. There was supposed to be a trail from 8th underneath Monroe to connect to the trail on the east side of Monroe Street Market. If I recall WABA gave the Dance Place developer a letter of support for their project because that connection was promised.

[hlinak]

@Washcycle I was lead to believe they ignored it since you didn't show the east side of the bridge drawings and I assumed you put up all of the documents. They don't seem to have fixed the noman's land just east of the turn lane though for the westbound traffic anyway which is clear from the drawing you did show.

[washcycle]

Yeah, sorry about that. There's like 120+ pages of design specs and I showed part of two of those, because I was just focused on the major changes for cyclists.

I think you're right, that their leaving the center, painted median. What should they have done with that space?